Statistics on Sexual Violence

Between 1 and 6 (16%) and 1 in 8 (13%) women have experienced a completed rape in their lifetime.

These data come from four methodologically sound studies that span 15 years. Using the 2005 Census, this translates to approximately 18 million women who are living with the consequences of having been raped. These four studies suggest that rape prevalence has been relatively stable over time.

The Number (Incidence) of Rapes Among Women in a Year

Approximately 829,000 women 18 years or older are raped annually. This number is an underestimate of the total number of females raped in a year because it does not include females under the age of 18 raped in that year which accounts for a large proportion of rapes.

The Prevalence of Rape Among Men

Approximately 1 in 47 men (2%) of men reported forced penetration within their lifetime.

Children

Recent studies report that from 7% – 13% of adult women and 2% – 3% of adult men report that they experienced forced sexual assault before the age of 18. Please note that the framework for these statistics is sexual assault, which is a broader range of experiences than rape (forced penetration.)

Relationships Between Rapist and Victim

Most frequently rapes are committed by acquaintances of the victim. Rapes by a stranger account for between 11% – 18% of rapes. There are two studies that provide good information about the relationship of the victim to the perpetrator, defining the relationships in slightly different ways.

Source:
“Victim Rights Law Center, the first nonprofit law center in the nation solely dedicated to serving the legal needs of sexual assault victims, and The Voices and Faces Project, a national documentary initiative that seeks to bring the stories of sexual violence survivors to the attention of the public, have joined forces. Together, we are launching CounterQuo: an initiative that will challenge the way that we, as a culture, respond to sexual violence.”

. . .”Our goal is to foster new alliances and information sharing between anti-violence leaders from the worlds of advocacy, law, media, public health and academia. Through on and offline efforts we will encourage the development of new ideas and fresh dialogue, and consider best practices from other social, legal and public health movements.”